The effect of embryonic ethanol exposure on detour learning in the chick.

To examine the effects of embryonic ethanol exposure on survivability, posthatch growth and detour learning, 4 groups of 30 fertile black sex-linked eggs were given 200 microliter injections of a solution of water and 0.0, 12.5, 37.5 or 50.0% (groups IC, L, M and H, respectively) ethanol (v/v) immediately preceding incubation. A fifth group of 33 eggs served as noninjected controls (NC). The results demonstrated that compared to group NC, a smaller percentage of groups M and H hatched and survived for behavioral testing, and that group H required more trials to reach criterion on the detour learning problem than did group IC. It was concluded that the teratogenic effects of ethanol are robust with respect to species and that the chick is an excellent model for studying some developmental and behavioral effects resulting from embryonic ethanol exposure.